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The New Lowlands
The New Lowlands, officially the Seventeen United Provinces of the New Lowlands, (Dutch: Verenigde Provinciën der Nieuwe Lage Landen) is the fourth-largest country by population in Panessos, with a population of over 3 billion. History Hindu-Buddhist Civilizations From what historians have managed to decipher, the first native Lowlandian texts originate from the 1st century CE, where mention is made of the Abadi Kingdom, the first state to arise in the region. The Abadi Kingdom was known to have contact with other Hindu kingdoms in the region, including the neighbouring Singkilian and Pinturajan civilisations. It constructed great temples in the Batavian highlands and held sway over nearly half of Tilpashim. The Abadi Kingdom declined in the third century CE, and eventually fell by conquest to the southern state of Sempurna, which unified Tilpashim under the Kalpita dynasty. Sempurna spread Austronesian culture to the rest of the New Lowlands by it's control of the spice trade and both Tilpashim straits; it also established suzerainty over both Singkilia and Pinturajia, maintaining control over them until the mid 4th century, when several pirate raids crippled Sempurna's power permanently. It is at this point that a series of noble rebellions, causing Tilpashim to enter a series of (non-contiguous) dynastic wars, concluded only in the late 5th century after a series of peace treaties were signed between the now 28 states of Tilpashim. Peace reigned for a while until the ascendancy of the Nadyom state, which by political means and a brief campaign against it's neighbours managed to once again create a unified Tilpashim, which reached it's economic and territorial peak in the 9th century, conquering swathes of territory on Hesia and Ajira. A long, slow decline led to the establishment of Chinese dominion over Sempurna in the 11th century, which culminated in the introduction of the sinicized Tsya dynasty. Yiu Tsya, the first ruler of the Tsya dynasty, addressed the ailing nation's economic and military problems, sinicizing the armed forces and establishing Tsya rule by a series of wars against unruly nobles. His successor, Wan Tsya, asserted independence from Song China, which led to a brief and ultimately fruitless naval conflict, after which the Song recognized the independent state of Tsyigao in return for a regular yearly tribute to the Song. The Tsya dynasty introduced gunpowder to the New Lowlands for the first time in history; it also established a system of taking tribute from other Lowlandian nations, who paid in return for safe passage through Tsya-controlled waters. Nonetheless, Tsyigao depended more on intensive agriculture than on trade, a specialisation which would prove to be it's downfall. Rise of Islam Islam was first introduced to the region by traders in the 12th century CE, but was taken up rapidly in the 13th century by the Hesian kingdoms of Paschima and Purva, whose kings used it as an excuse to wage war upon unruly vassals in order to further centralize their kingdoms. In this manner, both Paschima and Purva grew strong, becoming rivals in maritime power to Tsyigao, and enjoyed trade benefits with the growing influx of Islamic traders. The Tsya dynasty, who's fortunes were not dependent on trade, did not take notice of the decrease of trade and increase of wealth of their new neighbours until a marriage alliance sealed between Paschima and Purva led to both countries being ruled by one sovereign. Paschima and Purva ceased paying tribute to Tsyigao in 1247, which led to a war between the two factions which Tsyigao lost soundly. Defeated and humiliated, the Tsya dynasty was swept from power for the more local Dyalu dynasty, which all but disarmed the fleet, entering a period of quiet isolationism. With their local rivals removed, Paschima and Purva prospered throughout the latter half of the thirteenth and early half of the fourteenth century, until the coming of a bloody civil war which all but destroyed both kingdoms, dividing them into several warring city-states and ending centralized rule on Hesia for the next three-hundred and fifty years. While humiliated, Tsyigao was not destroyed, and it broke isolationism in the early fifteenth century to establish diplomatic contact with Ming China. Cultural, technological, and diplomatic exchanges from this period had a profound effect on Tilpashim which lasted until the mid-colonial period. Colonial Era The Colonial Era in the New Lowlands was marked at first by the establishment of European trade ports on Hesia. European colonial powers used force to assume control of several settlements, establishing forts and factories to which Tsyigao took offence. Military expeditions against the European settlements in 1524, 1527, and 1529 led to the re-establishment of Tsyigao hegemony over Western Hesia; nonetheless, European influences in the region remained. Efforts by Tsyigao to regain effective control over the rest of Hesia and more of the Lowlandian Territories resulted in a major rebellion by overseas vassals against Tsyigao; followed by a drought in 1581 which severely reduced Tilpashim's agricultural output, leading to a famine, followed by three decades of political instability, resulted in the collapse of the Tsyigao Empire. Tilpashim was once again split into various feudal states, the most dominant of which being the Sultanate of Sungai Selamat. The establishment of European interest among some of the smaller states followed, but an expedition in 1612 by Dutch sailors led to the infamous Exchange of Hoogekampen, in which the Sultan Parman II took a woman by the name of Wilhelmina Pietersdochter (involved involuntarily) as a wife in return for granting the Dutch a monopoly on European trade with the Sultanate; Wilhelmina's stay at the Sultan's court is well-reported in the historical accounts of the court scribes, most popularly collected and fictionalized in the book Sultanshart. Pietersdochter- an educated young noble- let herself be tutored by the Sultan's various advisors, and then advised the Sultan himself on various issues. This recycling of advice led to Parman II actually following it, and started a golden era for Sungai Selamat, allowing it to preside over the other Tilpashimi states. Believing this to be because of Wilhelmina's background, Parman II invited more and more Dutch courtiers and nobles to the Sultanate, who eagerly took up the offer to assume control of a foreign land. In this way Dutch culture was introduced to Tilpashim. Independence & Post-Independence ''Hervorming'' Policy Reform Era Geography Northern Territories Southern Territories Overseas Possessions Government The New Lowlands is one of the world's oldest surviving republics. Officially, the New Lowlands considers itself a continuation of the Dutch Republic, founded in 1581. This would also make it one of the world's oldest federal republics. In the year 1796 the New Lowlands adopted the Verdrag van Batavië 'as the nation's constitution after officially seceding from the '''Batavian Republic, '''which set up a system of checks and balances used to regulate the government to date. Political Parties Because of the New Lowlands' multi-party system, majority governments in the New Lowlands are few and far between. After the introduction of universal suffrage in 1849, the three dominant political groups in the New Lowlands have been the Liberals, represented by the Witt Party, the Conservatives, represented by the Secular-Democratic Party, and the Social Democrats, represented by the Labourers' Party. Witt Party The Witt Party (''Wittspartij) is the dominant Liberal party in the New Lowlands. Supporting classical liberalism, the party was founded in early 1815 in response to attempts by the Dutch to regain control of the country, and has been closely associated with the nation's independence and original values ever since. Nonetheless, the Witt Party are only the third largest party in the New Lowland's government, having only recently recovered from almost vanishing in the 70's in the face of a populace increasingly supportive of a larger state. Secular-Democratic Party The Secular-Democratic Party (Seculier-Demokraten) is the dominant conservative political party in the New Lowlands. Founded in 1932, the party was formed in response to increased reactionary and nationalist political activity, and benefited heavily from presenting a united front when other centrist and leftist parties were being seen as increasingly weak and fractional; it managed to gain and maintain a majority in government from 1937 through to 1945, seeing the nation through to the end of the Great War. After this, the resurgence of the Labourer's and Witt's party shifted the political spectrum to the left, forcing the Secular-Democrats to abandon pretensions of being a centrist party and maintain their stance on the right. Labourer's Party The Labourer's Party (Arbeiderspartij) is the dominant Socialist political party in the New Lowlands. Founded in 1912 after the merging of the Lowlandian Social-Democratic Party (NSDP) and the Communist Party (NNCP), the party was often externally defined as 'Marxist' but was more supportive of Social-Democratic ideals than of Marxism. The party managed to force through important labour reforms until an ideological split crippled the party until 1942, when it became part of the Wartime Coalition Government. The party gained prominence in the postwar era, rapidly expanding the public sector in the 60's and 70's until '''a combination of an economic downturn and hostility towards 'Big Government' caused the party to decline in the 80's and 90's. It managed to stabilize it's voter base in the mid-2000's, retaining it's position as a major political player in the face of three successive SD-Witt coalition governments. Administrative Divisions Provinces The New Lowlands is divided into seventeen Provinces, large administrative regions which, nominally, have their own state assemblies and governments, but are for all intents and purposes entirely subject to the federal government. Departments Departments are the administrative divisions subject to Provinces with a regional authority and two seats in the national States-General. While allowed to operate with a measure of independence, they are ultimately entirely subject to the national government and can be required to follow national policy at any time. Urban Departments Urban Departments are unique departments that, like standard Departments, have a regional authority. Unlike standard Departments, they tend to have six seats or more in the national States-General, and their regional governments are afforded some genuine independence in terms of services; while the policies of Urban services tend to be the same as the national policies, municipal authorities have the right to go against national policy if they deem it better for their Department. Foreign Relations Within Panessos External Military Economy The New Lowlands has a capitalist mixed economy fueled by abundant natural resources, well-developed infrastructure, and a gargantuan, highly productive agricultural sector. Agriculture The New Lowlands has a large agricultural sector, and is a major producer and exporter of wheat, corn, rice, and barley in that order. It is also a major producer of soy, potatoes, tomatoes, and chicken, and a minor exporter of pig meat and cotton. Services The New Lowlands has a large internal financial services sector, but telecommunications, food processing, construction and information technology are far larger. The New Lowlands also has a large but shrinking construction sector, and a small but burgeoning pharmaceuticals industry. Natural Resources Petroleum & Products Minerals & Refining The New Lowlands is one of the world's few suppliers of rare-earth metals; discovery of REM deposits in the foothills of the North Hesian mountains led to the Government acquiring swathes of land in the region. Manufacturing Military Civillian Demographics Population Provincial Populations Most Populous Cities Culture